MEN'S BASKETBALL: Oakland goes to overtime to beat Morehead State

ROCHESTER -- In a game that doesn't count for anything in the all-important conference standings, Oakland gave an extra effort to beat Morehead State, 82-79 in overtime, in Saturday's Bracketbusters matchup at the O'rena.

The Grizzlies (16-14) handled a bigger and more athletic Eagles (13-16) team that held a decisive advantage on the boards. With its go-to scorers on the bench in overtime having fouled out, the Grizzlies managed to hold on for the victory.

"We said 'Let's go win it in overtime' and we did. That's what makes me proud."

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Travis Bader, who tied Oakland's career record for 3-pointers (348), led all scorers with 27 points. Ryan Bass followed with 18 points and no turnovers in 41 minutes of play, Drew Valentine had 15 points and eight rebounds and Duke Mondy had 10 points and four steals, but was plagued with turnovers, committing eight, two of which at critical times late in regulation.

Bader had to watch the extra session from the bench after leading his team through regulation.

"I had confidence in my teammates," he said. "Everybody stepped up when we got in trouble."

The Grizzlies took their first lead of the game, 54-53, on a layup from Bader with 11:31 to play in regulation after a 14-2 run.

The Grizzlies led by three before Morehead State's Angelo Warner completed a three-point play to tie the game with 34 seconds remaining after getting fouled by Bader.

Oakland, which shot 71 percent (29 of 41) from the free-throw line, made five of eight attempts in overtime to seal the victory. Corey Petros came up with a game-saving block with four seconds remaining in overtime. He also had six points and nine rebounds.

Oakland had never played Morehead State, of the Ohio Valley Conference, prior to Saturday's matchup. The Eagles have been to the NCAA tournament two of the last four seasons, like Oakland, and upset No. 3 Louisville as a No. 13 seed in 2011.

The Eagles, coming off a double-overtime loss to Murray State Wednesday, asserted their presence early and often, finding their way to rebounds and loose balls. After they went ahead by eight with 5:38 to play in the first half, Oakland quickly closed the gap to three, but got no closer before the break. Morehead State led, 41-34, at halftime.

The Eagles led by as many as 11 points early in the second half before Oakland made its run.

Bader compared the Eagles to some of the bigger "BCS" competition Oakland plays in its daunting non-conference schedule.

"They're a big team, an athletic team and a very physical team," he said. "We tried to adjust and focus on boxing out and getting rebounds and not letting them get offensive rebounds. They're up there with some of the best teams we've played in terms of athleticism and physical ability."

Bass preferred to look at Saturday's opponent in a "bigger-they-are, harder-they-fall" fashion.

"It's easier to play an athletic team because they try to overdo everything," he said. "So, if you just try to play a strong mental game, you can beat physical ability every time."

The Eagles outrebounded the Grizzlies, 43-37, scoring 20 second-chance points to Oakland's 11 and had a 10-point advantage in points scored in the paint.

"Their offense started when they missed the jump shot," Kampe said. "They'd go get it. We'd go in with one hand and they'd go up with two hands and just rip it away from us and keep it alive and the next guy would dunk it."

The Grizzlies now return their focus to Summit League play after the brief hiatus from the conference race. The Grizzlies' loss Thursday at Fort Wayne snapped a seven-game winning streak and further hampered their chances at a top-three seed to next month's conference tournament.

"I was as mad as I've been in a long time after that game," Kampe said. "When you give the game away the way we did. ... We got back to our November mindset. It was not a real good week around here."

Oakland was participating in ESPN's Bracketbusters series for the second time. The series is expected to be discontinued after this season, but Kampe and the Grizzlies are obligated to return a visit to Morehead State within the next two seasons.

Oakland hosts Fort Wayne Saturday in the final game of the regular season before heading to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the Summit League Tournament March 9-12.